Ve Praha
by Tari3
Summary: In the darkest hours of the war, a pact is made between friends. Now that the war is over, the survivors need to fulfil the pact, and the dead, honoured. A story about a couple of Hufflepuffs.
1. Part One

**__**

Disclaimer: This all belongs to JKR. I'm not making any profit off of this; I just like to play.

Ve Praha

Part 1

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

"Why," Eloise Midgen moaned in frustration, "did we ever choose to travel the Muggle way? This is ridiculous!"

Justin Finch-Fletchley rolled his eyes at Hannah Abbott and answered, "Because that was the consensus of the group."

Hannah snorted her laughter into her palm and stared at the back of the seat in front of her, trying to regain her composure. Eloise had been complaining about the train rides ever since they started off from London with the Eurostar. With every new city they travelled to, her complaints became much more enthusiastic, and Justin seemed to become more and more annoyed with it.

Undaunted, Eloise continued on with her rant. "We could have Apparated just as easily, and _that _would have cut the time into fractions.

"But then," Hannah piped in, her laughter subsiding, "we wouldn't get to see all these magnificent landscapes."

"Bugger the landscapes," Eloise said mournfully, trying to look put-out. But it was clear she was enjoying the scenery just as much as Hannah.

And what was going on outside of the train window was beautiful. Hannah, Justin, Eloise, and Susan Bones (who was currently chatting up a Muggle on the other side of the train car) were on their way to Prague, fresh from Berlin, and they were just passing through a slightly mountainous region. They'd been travelling for about two weeks, and they'd been to Brugge, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Stockholm and Berlin.

Hannah was having a wonderful time, with the exception of the small quibbles and the ugly brawl that had broken out in Stockholm. It felt good to be able to travel after the years of war the wizarding world had suffered through.

In a way, it was almost surreal. Just over a year ago, Hannah and six of her friends had made a pact that they would take an extended holiday after the war, visiting cities all over Europe and just plain enjoying life.

Only four of the original seven lived long enough to carry out their pact.

When she noticed someone plopping down in Susan's empty seat, Hannah tore her gaze from the window to see a brightly smiling Justin.

Feeling her heart race slightly, Hannah glanced around. "Where's Eloise?"

Justin arched an eyebrow and answered, "Her excuse was that she went to find Susan, but I think she wanted to talk to the Muggle men."

Hannah's mouth dropped slightly, and her head instinctively turned towards the front of the car. She didn't know how those two did it, talking to strange men. Hannah could never work up that sort of courage.

"Don't you go too," Justin said in a mock pleading voice as he grabbed her hand. "Then I'd be all alone with no one to talk to."

Hannah smiled and turned her attention back to Justin. "Don't worry, I won't be going up there."

"Good," he replied, looking as though he really meant it. Hannah blushed. Why did she always have to do that around him?

Yet, as always, Justin didn't seem to notice. Or if he did, he was being a gentleman and ignoring it. She was thankful when he started speaking again. It brought the attention away from her. "What is it you would like to do when we arrive?"

After taking a moment to think, Hannah replied simply. "Honestly, I'm not sure. The only thing I know about Prague is that it was the centre of the European wizarding world at some point."

"So you did pay attention to Binns!" Justin joked.

"I didn't learn that from Binns." _I learned that from you._ "I must have picked it up somewhere," Hannah mumbled. She desperately wanted to steer this conversation elsewhere. "What do you want to do in Prague?"

Relief sprang over her when Justin smiled widely, swatting a stray curl from his face. He gestured wildly as he went on about the astrological clock on the town hall, the Charles Bridge, and the ghetto with its mythical creature, the Golem.

All Hannah could do was sit back and watch him talk animatedly. She wished she could lift her hand up to tuck the unruly strand of curly hair that was once again in his face, but knew that she would never have that right.

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

Hannah hugged herself for warmth as she stood in the enormous Old Town Square in the centre of Prague. Although it was the middle of August, it was rather chilly at night. She thought about transfiguring her scarf into a more suitable sweater, but she figured with her luck, the scarf would turn into an umbrella or ten.

Hannah stood there, already slightly drunk from the copious amount of beer they had at dinner. She absentmindedly ran her foot along the bronze Prague Meridian that was barely visible next to the cobblestone ground in the dark of night.

She closed her eyes and breathed in deeply. It smelled different than London. Here she could smell the magic in the air. She felt she could almost touch it. Back in London, although magic was still around, there was something covering it up. Somehow it seemed to be in a more pure state in Prague. Hannah couldn't seem to explain it.

She put her arms out to her sides, ignoring the chill and wanting to feel the magic. Instead, she lost her balance and stumbled.

Holding back a snort of laughter, she looked over her shoulder towards her friends. Justin and Susan were still arguing over a map and Eloise was pacing back and forth. Finding this all quite amusing, for reasons she couldn't quite explain, she broke into side-splitting laughter.

"All right," Susan called out, assuredly, pointing across the square, past a very large statue of someone named Jan something-or-other. "We're going that way."

Stopping in her tracks, Eloise looked in the direction Susan was pointing. "Are you sure?"

"No," Susan said confidently. "But we're going to go that way."

Susan and Eloise started walking briskly over towards the far corner of the square, while Hannah followed. She jumped nearly out of her skin when Justin bumped her arm gently.

"Don't scare me!" she yelped, pushing him away playfully.

Raising his eyebrows, Justin smiled. "Are you scared?" His eyes were heavy, and Hannah tried to remember how much Justin had had to drink. It seemed like it was probably a decent amount, especially considering he couldn't seem to walk in a straight line.

"_You_ don't scare me," Hannah managed to say through her laughter.

Just as Hannah stumbled with her steps, Justin yelled loudly, as though he was attacking her, and grabbed her from the back. Hannah shrieked out with laughter as he spun her around.

A moment later, Justin cursed loudly, and they were both sprawled out on the cobblestones. Hannah's laughter exploded threefold. Her sides ached and her eyes were tearing. She couldn't remember the last time she'd laughed this hard, if indeed she ever had.

She forced her eyes open and was immediately aware of Justin's presence. One of his hands were resting lightly on her stomach, their legs were so intertwined she couldn't tell which leg belonged to who, and worst (best) of all, his face was so close, she could feel his breath hitting her cheek. _He _was most definitely not laughing.

Almost immediately, Hannah's laughs tapered off into silence, and she was lost. When his hand moved on her stomach almost imperceptibly, her body reacted immediately, and she felt the familiar ache in her lower abdomen that appeared almost whenever Justin was around. Unable to work up the courage to look at him, Hannah shut her eyes tightly and held her breath. She didn't want to do anything that might break this moment.

"Oi," Susan's voice rang out in the distance. "What are you two doing down there?"

In an instant, Justin had disentangled himself, and Hannah felt like she had lost something.

Hannah opened her eyes and noticed Justin's proffered hand. "Are you all right?" he asked softly, but with a slightly drunken slur.

Accepting the hand, Hannah wobbly rose to her feet. "Yes."

They started walking again without another word spoken between them. The silence hung around them as they trailed after Susan and Eloise.

Hannah once again wrapped her arms around herself for warmth. The streets were eerily devoid of people, and there seemed to be a strange glow about the street. A chilled wind fluttered past them and Hannah shivered.

"Are you cold?" Justin asked, concerned.

Hannah started at the broken silence. "A little," she replied truthfully.

"Well, it's no wonder with what you're wearing," Justin said, looking her over, making her feel suddenly warm all over.

"It's August," she explained hastily. "I thought it'd be warmer."

"I'm not complaining, but you really must be cold. Give me your scarf."

"Taking away my clothes is not going to make me warmer," Hannah said with a smile. Yet, as soon as she processed what she'd said, images of she and Justin naked and in a passionate embrace, sweating, appeared in her mind. She realized Justin had just the right idea. Undressing was a good plan of action in order to get heated.

Hannah licked her lips and slowly unwrapped her scarf from her neck, relishing in the feel of the material grazing across the sensitive skin of her neck. It was on the tip of her tongue to ask Justin which item of clothing would be next to come off (it didn't matter they were on a public street), when Justin spoke.

"Why didn't you transfigure this into something else?"

Oh, of course. Hannah shook herself from her fantasies. "You know how I am with that. It would have been disastrous if I had even tried."

Smiling, Justin glanced around before pulling his wand out. "Well, then you're in luck. We've got someone here who actually passed their Transfiguration OWL." He mumbled a few choice words, and Hannah watched the scarf turn into a comfortable sweater that, while warm-looking, did not go with her outfit in the very least.

Hannah smiled widely and immediately put on the sweater that perhaps more closely resembled a potato sack. "Thank you. And I'll have you know, I did pass my Transfiguration OWL. I did decently well on the written exam, and I managed to scrap by with an 'A', despite the flamingos.

They shared a brief laugh together as they continued to follow their friends down the road.

"When do you suppose we'll get to wherever we're going?" Justin asked in a conspiratorial whisper.

"Probably never, at the rate we're going," Hannah whispered back.

It was then she felt it, and it made her breath freeze in her lungs. His hand had just barely grazed her own. The contact was only for a moment, but it affected her whole body.

When it happened a second time, the contact was held, and Hannah didn't think she could ever breathe again. His hand moved with hers, their knuckles grazing against each other. Hannah felt she could die from this feather-light touch of the hand.

But if she had thought that the back of Justin's hand was erotic, it was nothing compared to when he took her hand in his, their fingers interlocking playfully.

His fingertips moved across the back of her palm, making her want to allow those same fingers access to every inch of her. If his fingers felt like that against her hand, she couldn't imagine what they'd feel like elsewhere--grazing over her neck. Softly caressing her thighs. She wanted to feel his fingers on her stomach again, this time without the barrier of clothing. She wanted his fingers to run circles around her flesh, knead and pinch her breasts and dive deep inside her.

Hannah felt her whole body burn and she had to concentrate to keep herself from panting and giving away how much she wanted him.

"Hannah," Justin said, stopping her with his hand. She didn't miss the catch in his voice as he said her name.

"Yes," she replied, entirely too fast and entirely too breathy.

"BUGGER IT ALL TO HELL!" Eloise's voice rang clear into the night.

Immediately, Hannah and Justin dropped hands and turned towards the sound of the cry. Hannah gasped when she realized she could not see neither Eloise nor Susan.

"Come on," Justin said worriedly, before setting off at a run. She immediately followed after, her heart racing now no longer from desire, but from fear.

When she turned the corner, she immediately came to a halt.

There was Susan and Eloise, perfectly safe and standing in the Old Town Square. They were right back where they'd started.

A feeling of relief spread through her, quickly followed by a pang of deep annoyance.

"We are never going to find this place," Susan groaned out in exasperation before cocking her head in Hannah and Justin's direction curiously.

"Then let's just go here." Justin gestured behind him as he rubbed his forehead in what seemed to be a combination of relief and frustration. Hannah wondered if she looked the same way because she certainly felt like the way Justin appeared.

Looking a bit sceptical, Eloise asked, "Are you sure?"

Running his hand through his curly hair, Justin replied, "It's an Irish pub and it's open. It'll be all right. At the very least they'll speak English."

"I agree with Justin," Hannah piped up, snuggling into the transfigured sweater.

Susan, suddenly seeming very interested in Hannah and Justin, interrupted whatever Eloise was gearing up to say. "It's fine, I suppose. Is there something the matter with you?" she asked Justin, putting on an act of innocence. She glanced at Hannah, before looking Justin up and down again. A sly grin spread over her face. "You seem tense. What were you two up to?"

"Nothing!" Hannah cringed when she and Justin answered at the same moment. They sounded like guilty children being interrogated about an empty cookie jar.

Just over an hour later, Hannah found herself seated at a large table in the Irish pub surrounded by her friends and perhaps a dozen other people from various parts of the globe.

Eloise seemed to be getting close to an Italian who was currently at the bar buying the next round. Across the table, Susan was flat out snogging someone from New Zealand. Hannah wasn't talking to anyone.

Feeling somewhat left out, Hannah hastily finished the last sip of her drink. She was well and drunk, which usually made her quite the talkative bee, but right now, she seemed completely mute.

She looked over to her left, towards Justin. She looked at him and the woman he was talking to. The woman with perfect hair in tight ringlets bouncing down her back… with perfect make-up and breasts that filled out a low cut, _red_ dress that Hannah could never get away with wearing.

She was Spanish… and she was openly flirting with Justin, who seemed to be enjoying the situation immensely.

Hannah could feel the tears begin to well up in her eyes.

"Do not worry about Katherina," a rough, smoke-filled voice whispered in her ear. "She is 'armless."

Turning, Hannah came face to face with a stunningly gorgeous man with piercing ice-blue eyes. "Armless?" Hannah was confused; the woman looked as though she had both her arms firmly attached to her torso.

"Si, 'armless," the man said confidently as he sat down next to Hannah. "You have nothing to worry about. She will go no farther than the flirting. Her… how do you say it? Her bark is worse than her nipple."

"_What_?" This was not making Hannah feel better.

"Her nipple. _Nipple_." The man looked highly frustrated that Hannah wasn't understanding him. "You know…" The man started biting his hand, and Hannah's jaw dropped. He had nice hands. "Nipple."

Realisation suddenly flowed through Hannah. "Oh! Nibble. Bite." She was filled with jubilation for figuring out this riddle. "Her bark is worse than her bite!"

The man smiled, revealing a stunning smile that nearly knocked Hannah off her seat. "That is it! Si, her bark is worse than her bite!"

The man removed a package of cigarettes from his pocket, removing one. He put the cigarette in his mouth, so that it rested in between his rough lips. Hannah briefly wondered what it would be like to kiss those lips. He offered her the pack of cigarettes and Hannah quickly shook her head. Shrugging, he put the pack away and went to light the cigarette.

If Justin was going to flirt with that woman… Katherina… surely Hannah could have her own fun. It wasn't as though they had any obligations to each other.

Blowing out a puff of smoke the man said, "My name is Diego. I am from Barcelona."

"I'm Hannah, from England."

A smile broke out on Diego's face. "And your fiancé? He is also English?"

"My fiancé?" Hannah asked, bewildered.

"Si, your fiancé." Diego pointed in Justin's direction.

Hannah was stunned. Where would this man get the impression that she and Justin were going to be married? "He's not my _fiancé_," Hannah tried to explain. She felt her heart fall into her stomach. "We're not together."

Hannah could have sworn she saw a glimmer of triumph in the smile that broke out on Diego's face. "That," he said, reaching out to grab a lock of her hair, "is his loss. You have beautiful hair, like - like the sun."

Hannah blushed and glanced over at Justin. He was still wrapped up with Katherina.

"Thank you," she replied to Diego.

He took a long drag off his cigarette. Hannah usually thought the things were vile, but she was in an experimental mood at the moment. Diego licked his top lip before asking, "You are not seeing anyone?"

Shaking her head, she answered, "No one."

"This I find very hard to believe." Releasing her hair, Diego slid his fingertips over Hannah's cheek. His touch was soft. When he skimmed the pad of his thumb across her lower lip, Hannah shivered. She quickly glanced over to where Justin was sitting. Nothing.

Diego leaned closer and whispered, "You are very beautiful." With that, he leaned fully in and captured her mouth with his lips.

Instantly, Hannah knew she wasn't enjoying herself. She didn't want to be kissing Diego; she wanted to be kissing someone else. Something simply wasn't right about this kiss. It was rough, but not passionate. Diego's five o'clock shadow was irritatingly scratching her face. He tasted like smoke.

When his tongue practically forced its way into her mouth, Hannah nearly yelped. Her eyes wide open, she tensely sat there as Diego jabbed his pointy tongue in and out of her mouth.

Hannah pulled away as quickly as she could, just as someone coughed none too subtly right beside her. She stared at Diego in shock. It was incredibly how he had gone from attractive to repulsive in the span of one bad kiss.

The same someone coughed again. The same cough as just a moment ago. Hannah quickly turned her head to the source of the noise.

"Justin!" she yelped out in surprise, her hand flying to her throat.

He was standing right next to her, glaring at Diego. Hannah had barely ever seen that look on Justin's face, in fact, she hadn't seen it since the war had ended.

"Hannah, it's time to go." His voice was strong and fierce and directed at the man seated across from her.

Hannah shot Diego a smile that she hoped looked apologetic and quickly stood up. How had Justin known that she suddenly wanted to get out of here? She tried to send Justin a silent 'thank you' through her eyes, but she found he was still glaring at Diego.

"Maybe, she doesn't want to go," the Spaniard said in a slow, raspy voice.

"Oh, no," Hannah said quickly. "I'm ready to go." She smiled toothily at smoke-covered bad-kisser and sincerely at Justin.

As they walked away, Hannah noticed that Justin lingered, staring back at Diego before following after her. It made Hannah feel strange. Part of her felt all tingly and comforted, while another part of her was thoroughly upset at him. He didn't have the right to act that way towards Diego.

"Eloise," Hannah said, kneeling down to speak into her ear. "I think we're going now."

"Oh." Eloise sounded a little disappointed. "All right." She looked over to the man she was talking to, and said, "It was nice meeting you. I have to go." She gave a little wave, said a little "Bye," and stood up to follow Hannah.

When they approached Susan and told her they were leaving, they got a completely different reaction.

"Oh, er." She grabbed onto Eloise's arm, looking between Justin and Hannah. "Me and Elly are gonna-"

"_Elly_?" Eloise spurted out in a fit of giggles.

"Yes, Elly." Susan was obviously trying to hide her giggles, while she leaned heavily on Eloise's arm. "We are going to stay here a bit longer, and you two are going to go and…" Susan dissolved into a fit of laughter, hiding her face in Eloise's arm.

"All right," Justin said impatiently. "You two are staying here?"

Laughing, Eloise nodded. "I guess so."

Just as she and Justin were halfway out the door, Hannah heard Susan yell out, "Have fun, you two!"

Hannah blushed at what her friend was implying. She quickly managed to glance back at Susan, only to see her friend wink at her suggestively, which only made Hannah blush harder at Susan's misunderstanding.

Nothing was going to happen between her and Justin. Nothing had happened in all the years they'd known each other, how could anything happen in just one night.

The walk back to their hotel was silent. Not one word was spoken between them as they walked through the Old Town Square or when they walked through the small streets lined with sparkling crystal shops. Nothing as they entered the hotel lobby or as they walked up the two flight to their room.

__

There were two kinds of silences, Hannah mused. The comfortable silence that she and Justin normally shared. They could be around each other, be completely silent and things would still be relaxed.

Then there was the tense silence that usually happened around strangers trying to make small talk. That silence was uncomfortable, edgy and usually didn't happen between Hannah and Justin.

The silence the two walked home in was the latter kind of silence.

Hannah stood next to her hotel room, number 22, and watched Justin's back as he walked down the hallway. He hadn't even said goodnight to her. What was going on with him?

"Goodnight, Justin," she yelled down the hall, letting her annoyance be audible, and also a tad louder than she should have done at this hour.

Immediately he turned around, something akin to fury burning in his eyes. "Be quiet. Do you want to wake everyone up?"

"I was just saying goodnight. Something _friends _do." Hannah clenched her room key tightly in her hand.

Justin stared at her for a moment. "Goodnight," he said finally.

Hannah sighed and went to unlock her door.

"What were you doing with that man?" he asked rather harshly, making Hannah jump. She suddenly felt cheap.

She turned to face Justin and said the first thing that came to mind. "What where you doing with that woman? Katherina?"

"I was just talking to her," Justin replied, almost pleadingly.

Hannah felt her throat close up. Just talking? Taking a deep breath, she managed to say, "Well, I was _just talking _to Diego."

Justin took a few steps towards her, so they were well within arm reach. "You were doing more than 'just talking'. I _saw _you kissing him."

She suddenly felt highly defensive. What did it matter to him? "So what?" she asked. "What does that matter? Aren't I allowed to have a little fun every once and a while? After all we've been through these past few years, I thought fun should be a priority. And it didn't seem to bother you that Susan was having a lot of fun with that man she was with. You didn't seem to care about her."

Justin stared at her, and Hannah felt like she might have gone too far. Although, she wasn't quite sure what exactly she had taken too far.

"You're right," he whispered, backing up. "Go have all the _fun_ you want. I sure as hell don't care who you snog." With that, Justin quickly walked away and roughly went into his room.

Hannah stood there, frozen in her place. She stood there for several minutes, until she could feel her tears falling down her cheeks. Quietly, she went into her own room.

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

**__**

A/N: This isn't the end; this is a two-part story, and the next part should be up shortly! Thank you so much to Ranee, Julia Weasley and Cronje for the beta. And thank you for reading this! I really appreciate it. If you want to leave a quick review, I'd be forever grateful!

Oh, and 'Ve Praha' means 'In Prague' in Czech.


	2. Part Two

**_Disclaimer:_**_ Not mine!_

_**A/N:** I had to cut down this part of the fic to keep it rated R._

__

Ve Praha

Part 2

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

The following day was beautiful. It was a sunny and warm day, and Hannah had neither seen nor spoken to Justin all morning. She didn't know where he was, and she couldn't convince herself to believe that she didn't care.

He had left them a note saying that he would meet them in Wenceslas Square, up near the National Museum, at noon. Nothing else. Eloise had then scrambled off to the National Museum, yelling that she would meet them there, as well, as she ran out the door.

So, Hannah and Susan had treated themselves to a bit of a lie-in before dragging their arses out of bed to wander around Charles Bridge and browse through the street peddlers camped out there. Now, it was just before noon, and the two of them were at the top of Wenceslas Square, waiting for their two other friends to join them. Hannah couldn't say she wasn't nervous about seeing Justin again. The fight they'd had last night was one of the few they'd ever had, and she wasn't sure if it was over yet.

She desperately hoped that it was over; she hated fighting with anyone, especially with Justin.

They had been sitting on this bench for quite awhile, and either girl had taken to their own. Hannah was people-watching, creating stories for the various men and women who passed them by, clutching her bag of shopping in her hands. In the small, plastic bag were three crystal figures , a local art, in three different colours. She'd been buying little trinkets at each place they visited on this tour of Europe for a very special reason.

During the war, she and her friends had made a pact, and just because three of them didn't survive to see the pact through didn't mean they had to miss out completely. Hannah was going to bring their travels to her fallen friends through the trinkets she picked up in each city. She planned to visit her friends' memorials as soon as she returned to England, so that she could give them the gifts and honour their pact they had all longed to fulfill together.

Hannah placed the bag of crystals next to her as she watched an old man walk by, hunched over and carrying a briefcase. He was walking home, Hannah decided, to his wife of fifty-three years. He had retired years earlier, but still made crafts that he sold to novelty shops for a little extra money. Hannah smiled and looked to her friend sitting beside her.

Susan was sitting next to her, staring intently at a spot near the centre of the square. Who knew what she was doing.

Hannah looked up and down the square. It was very long, rectangular, with the National Museum at the head, and various stores lining the sides. It wasn't as beautiful as the Old Town Square, but it was vibrant.

Hannah checked her watch and noticed that it was just past noon. She turned towards Susan, who was still staring intently. "Where do you think Justin-"

"This is where Jan killed himself," Susan said suddenly, softly.

"Who?" Hannah asked, suddenly very concerned, momentarily forgetting the time.

"Jan Palach." Susan kept her eyes focused on the spot in front of them. "He set himself on fire and burned to death right here."

"Why'd he do that?"

"It was done in protest," Susan started to explain. "In 1969. He was a student, and a Muggle. They were being oppressed by the government. They wanted freedom." Susan looked sheepishly towards Hannah for a moment. "I read about it last night, before dinner."

As this information sunk into Hannah's brain, a silence once again fell upon the two friends. Hannah couldn't really imagine it. In this exact spot, so many years ago, someone burned themselves to death out of protest of the government--for something he believed in. She was immersed in a strange combination of horror and awe.

"It's strange, isn't it?" Susan asked, breaking the silence.

Hannah looked over to her friend, but didn't say anything.

After a moment, Susan continued. "We're so alike, Muggles and wizards. We live on the same planet, in two separate worlds, but we're the same. Remember Megan?"

Hannah felt her heart leap to her throat. "Yes." How could she forget?

"She did the same thing. And Uncle Edgar." Susan paused and, for the first time since they'd started speaking, she looked away from where Jan Palach had died. With a broken voice, she continued, "And Ernie, too. So many people died in the war against Voldemort so that we could be free. So that we could be sitting right here, right now, in Prague."

Hannah nodded, not knowing what to say. She often thought about this, but she couldn't figure out how to process it so that it made sense. Maybe that was the thing about it, it didn't make sense.

"Ernie would have liked Prague," Susan said, dissolving into sobs.

Quickly throwing her arms around her friend, Hannah hugged Susan tightly. "I know. He would have loved it. He would be glad you're here." She felt useless. Her best friend was sobbing hysterically in her arms, and there was nothing she could do but just be there, saying the most idiotic and unhelpful things.

"Susan!" a voice called out.

Hannah spun her head quickly to search for the source of the yell.

It was Justin. And Eloise was running not too far behind him. Hannah hugged her friend tightly as she felt a sob threaten to break free.

"Don't worry, Susan," Hannah whispered into Susan's hair. "We're here."

"Susan," Justin's voice rang out, suddenly right next to them. "What happened? What's wrong?"

Hannah looked up to see Justin on his kneeling before Susan, his eyes burning with worry. Eloise was sitting on the other side of Susan, frowning and staring.

Susan didn't--couldn't--answer Justin's question, so Hannah, wiping her hair from her eyes, answered for her.

"Ernie."

In that one word, everything became clear to both Justin and Eloise. Justin leaned back on his heals, looking defeated, while Eloise's hand shot to her mouth before quickly embracing their sobbing friend.

Hannah just sat there, looking at her hands, feeling useless.

"Come on," whispered Eloise thickly. "Let's go back to the hotel and get freshened up. It'll be all right."

Slowly, the four got to their feet. Justin and Eloise framed Susan, supporting her as they walked. Hannah fell into step about five feet behind the trio.

They slowly made their descent down the Square, passing people as they went--tourists and natives smiling, laughing, talking, living their normal lives, completely unaware.

Hannah felt numb.

"Are you all right?"

Hannah jumped and looked to the source of the voice. Somehow, without Hannah realising it, Justin had separated himself from the other girls to walk with her.

"I'll live," she replied. She had no desire to lie by saying she was all right, so she'd said the only thing she could. They walked the rest of the way in silence. A comfortable silence.

They passed through the lobby and up the stairs. The same path they'd tread the previous night, yet this time the emotions were so different and somehow, Hannah wasn't sure how, she found herself walking into Justin's room and sitting on his bed.

She felt her heart beat a little faster when he sat next to her, his leg just brushing her thigh. They were sitting so close. He leaned back on his hands, while Hannah sat up straight, almost terrified to move.

She could feel the heat emanating from his body.

Hannah suddenly felt she had to say something, not to fill the silence, but to explain. "She was - she was talking about this man… this man who burned himself alive for what he believed in. He did it almost right there where we were sitting, only years ago.

"I should have known to change the subject, but it was so…" She trailed off as something akin to rage flowed through her. "We've lost so many friends, sometimes I can't stand to be alive. Like, why am I alive and not Ernie? I was there when he died--it could have easily been me."

She turned so she could face Justin. Hannah felt this urge to make him understand. "He and Susan were going to get married. They were going to have a _family _together. I don't have that. I don't have anything close to that. It would have been easier if it had been me who'd died. There are no strings with me. I'm alone."

"Stop."

Hannah just looked at him, tears flowing down her cheeks.

"Don't talk like that." Justin looked rattled, and he spoke sternly. "You can't change what happened."

"I know," she said meekly, now feeling somewhat ashamed. Her eyes fell to look at the duvet.

Justin shifted on the bed and grabbing her hands, forcing her to look back up at him.

"And don't say you should have been in his place. Ernie wouldn't want you talking like that."

"I know," Hannah squeaked out, feeling like the lowest of the low.

Justin cupped her cheek, the pad of his thumb wiping away at the tears. He spoke clearly and so passionately it almost frightened Hannah. "You're life is special, and don't you for one minute think that it's not. You are so important to me." He buried his head in her hair and hugged her tightly. Hannah hugged him back, not wanting to ever let him go.

"I don't know what I would have done if I had lost you in the war," he said, his breath hitting her ear softly.

His hand had moved to her neck, softly touching her. Hannah shut her eyes tightly and took a struggled breath. Her hands dug into Justin's back, bringing him closer.

She breathed out his name, almost in a moan. He'd just confessed so much to her, and Hannah felt overwhelmed. She placed her lips on his neck and kissed him gently.

Suddenly, he pulled her away from his neck and cupped her cheeks in his hands, holding her in front of his face. He looked so vulnerable and open, and Hannah could feel her heart melt.

"Justin," she whispered, "kiss me."

She barely saw the flash of lust in his eyes before they were kissing. It was a gentle, tentative kiss, as though neither was sure of exactly what to do. Their teeth clacked together and Hannah was suddenly overcome with nervous laughter. She broke away from Justin, her hand flying to cover her mouth.

"What?" Justin's voice was thick with confusion and just a little bit of hurt.

"I'm sorry," Hannah said though her laughter. "I don't know why. I'm nervous," she added, as if that was an explanation.

Leaning back, Justin scratched his neck. His shirt tightened across his chest, and Hannah's giggles trailed off. "Why are you nervous?"

Hannah licked her bottom lip, and met Justin's eye. She pressed her thighs tightly together as bolts of electricity shot to her pelvis. She tried to concentrate on an answer, but his hand fell to his lap, and she was distracted. "I want you."

"You want me?" He still looked confused, but he shifted closer to her and put his hand on her neck. Hannah leaned into it. "You're nervous," Justin continued, "because you want me?"

Hannah furrowed her brow. Had she said that? It was true, though, and Hannah, realising this, nodded. She raised her hands to cradle the hand Justin was using to lightly massage her neck. Holding his hand still, Hannah turned her head slightly and kissed the inside of his palm. She kissed it again. Again. Soft gentle kisses all over his palm.

Her eyes fluttered shut and she kissed the base of his thumb. She kissed his fingers. The back of his hand. His knuckles. The tips of his fingers, and down to the palm again.

She opened her eyes as she continued to shower his hand the gentle brush of her lips. He was staring at her, transfixed, his mouth gaping open slightly.

Keeping her eyes fixed on him, Hannah ran her tongue up his index finger and swirled it around the tip. She felt a thrill race through her when she took the finger fully in her mouth, eliciting a deep moan from him. She savoured his reaction and the feel of his slightly calloused finger in her mouth. She ran her teeth gently against his flesh and watched as Justin closed his eyes, his face alight with rapture.

Hannah nearly whimpered when he tore his hand from her grasp, only to be immediately rewarding with hips lips crashing against hers, the force of which caused Hannah to fall back on the bed.

The weight of the man she quite possibly loved on top of her caused Hannah to moan gutturally, and she arched up into him and gasped. Instinctively, Hannah wrapped her legs around Justin and pulled him closer. She writhed beneath him in blissful agony as they continued to kiss.

Not caring that he was cutting off her air supply with his weight, Hannah moved her hands down his back, dragging her fingernails into his shirt, pulling him closer.

A moment later, Justin was no longer kissing her, but leaning up on his elbows. He was panting heavily and his eyes were shut tight.

Hannah may have got her air back, but she was now terrified that he was going to stop, telling her that they were moving to fast. After all the time that had passed with Hannah pining away for this man, she thought they weren't moving fast enough.

Yet, after a moment, Justin reached down with one hand, letting his weight rest on one elbow and pulled at his shirt. He pulled it up, revealing his chest and the brown hair that lightly covered him. As he tugged the shirt over his head, he transferred his weight to the other elbow and flung the offending clothing to the floor.

He looked down at her, and Hannah felt her insides jump in excitement. In his face, she saw desire, and it was for her. Whispering his name, she reached her arm around him and pulled him back down to her.

His skin was warm beneath her touch, and his back muscles were flexing as he moved above her. It wasn't enough, though, just her hands on his skin. She wanted to feel him against her.

With one hand, Hannah pulled on the bottom of her shirt, struggling to get it off and breaking their kiss for only a moment as she wrenched it over her head, leaving only her bra.

_Much better_.

"Hannah," Justin whispered as his mouth travelled from her lips to her ear and then throat. Hannah shivered. She never liked her name much, but the way he had said it, almost reverently and so lustfully, made her believe it was the sexiest thing in the world.

Hannah pushed her hips up as his hand moved slowly, _ohMerlinsoslowly_, down her stomach and to the top of her trousers. She tilted her head back and moaned out his name.

Their movements were slow, almost lazy, as they moved together on the uncomfortable hotel bed.

Hannah breathed in sharply and it was suddenly brought to her attention that her trousers were uncomfortably tight with Justin's hand shoved down them. She needed to do something about that.

Hannah trailed her fingers across his skin, down, until she reached the top of his jeans. Raising her head to kiss Justin on the shoulder, she slid her hand in between them and undid the flies of her khakis. Justin let out a low, guttural moan.

"Hannah," he panted, next to her ear.

She trailed her free hand down his back and lightly bit his shoulder. "Yes?"

"Fuck," he uttered. He looked as though he was in pain, and it fascinated Hannah. "Let go. Please--Oh, Merlin, Hannah."

He was panting now, and Hannah bit her lip, not fully understanding what he wanted her to let go of. Her inhibitions? Something else?

"We have to--" He licked his lips and Hannah licked his neck. "We have to stop," he finally managed to say. He quickly rolled off of her, as though he couldn't bear to touch her any longer.

"Why?" Hannah asked immediately, acutely feeling the loss of his body against hers. She sat up and looked down on him. His chest was glistening with a sheen of sweat, and his face was flushed red. _All _of his visible skin was flushed and heated. She wanted to see more. "I don't want to stop."

Justin buried his face in his hands, and Hannah reached behind her and undid the clasp of her bra. "If we don't stop now," Justin said, as though warning her, "I won't be able to stop later."

"I don't want to stop now," Hannah said, throwing her bra on the floor. Justin moaned in what could have been desire, but it could have easily been in annoyance as well. "And I _don't_ want to stop later. Do you want to stop?"

Hannah rubbed her hand firmly against him and went to unfastening his belt. Justin shook his head furiously.

Running his hands through his hair, Justin looked up at her with a glare so fierce and full of lust that it nearly scared her. His eyes moved down her body, and he stared at her. "But I don't think you know what that means," he rasped.

Hannah licked her lips. She was a little hurt he thought her so naïve. He should have known better.

"I know what it means," she said deadpanned. "I want you, Justin."

It was enough to break his resolve, and he lurched forward and kissed her deeply.

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

Justin crawled up and kissed her, before laying down next to her. He pushed her onto her side, and wrapped his arm around her, spooning her, and kissing her shoulder gently.

"Hannah," he said, his voice rough in its post-coital state. "I'm sorry we fought last night."

Smiling, she blushed. "I'm sorry, too."

He tightened his grasp on her. "I had no… I shouldn't have been upset you were talking to that guy. I had no claim on you."

_Claim on her?_ "I wasn't interested in him, not really. I think I did it to get your attention more than anything."

He chuckled against her skin. "It worked."

"Besides," she continued, "you were chatting up that woman."

"Well, we had a common interest." His voice held a hint of amusement, and Hannah's stomach plummeted. _What did that mean?_

"What do you mean, 'common interest'?" Hannah cringed when she heard the hurt evident in her voice.

"You," was all Justin decided to say.

"_What_?" Hannah turned around to face him. He seemed to be blushing.

"We both kind of fancied you." He wouldn't meet her eye. "So we talked… about you."

Hannah was dumbstruck. "I had no idea."

Smiling, Justin met her gaze. "Now you do," he said, leaning in to kiss her.

She sunk into him, relishing in the fact that she was kissing Justin. And he was very good at it. Breaking the kiss, Hannah smiled.

They stayed just like that, on the bed in each other's arms, kissing lazily and content to just be with one another, until a thought came to Hannah.

"What time is it?" she asked, shifting so she could look at the clock. _Damn._ It was later than she'd imagined.

"Why," Justin asked, trying to keep Hannah from leaving his grasp.

Grabbing onto the bed sheets, Hannah covered herself. "We need to check on Susan. They'll wonder where we are."

"No," he groaned, trying to hold onto her.

"Yes," she said, mimicking Justin's tone. "They'll wonder where we are. Now let me go, I need to shower."

Justin relaxed his grip, and she managed to get off the bed. She had just turned to go into the bathroom, when he stopped her with his voice.

"Hannah." He was looking at her heavily, almost mischievously, which was very unlike his normal behaviour. "Leave the sheet, won't you."

Hannah stared at him as though he'd said she looked like a Blast-Ended Skrewt. Then, in one of her braver moments, she thought, Hannah let the sheet fall limply to the floor, and she turned to walk towards the bathroom, sans clothing.

When Hannah was midway to the bathroom, there was a knock on the door. Hannah swore, her hand flying to her mouth, and she crouched down, as though trying to cover her naked body.

"Justin," Eloise called from outside the room. "Justin, are you in there? Is Hannah there with you?"

For a moment, all she could do was stare at Justin, and he, her. Then, as though as though electrified, the two sprang to life.

Hannah grabbed the nearest item of clothing she could find: her shirt. She pulled it on as Justin called out, "Yes. One moment!"

"Oh bugger!" Hannah whispered frantically. "Where are my pants?"

"Here," Justin said, holding up a bunch of clothing triumphantly, his own jeans now hanging loosely on his hips. They were left undone, and Hannah found it difficult to tear her eyes away from the hair just below his navel.

Walking over the bed, he handed her her pants, trousers and bra just as Eloise banged on the door again.

Justin pointed to the loo and said, "Go change in there. I'll get the door."

Nodding, Hannah turned around, but was immediately stopped by a hand grabbing her wrist. She turned towards Justin and shot him a quizzical glance. He smiled almost shyly before leaning in and brushing his lips against hers gently.

Hannah shivered at the contact and went to deepen the kiss when another round of knocking sounded on the door.

"Bugger!" Hannah clasped her clothes to her chest and dashed into the loo, taking care to close the door gently, as to not make a sound. Before the door clicked shut, she could just make out Justin throwing his shirt over his head.

Shoving on her pants, Hannah strained to hear what was going on.

A door opened, and she could hear Eloise speak. "Is Hannah in here?"

"She's… er…. She's using the loo," Justin said just as Hannah fastened her bra.

"Housekeeping didn't come, I take it?" Eloise asked, sounding somewhat amused.

_What?_ Hannah looked at her reflection in the mirror. She looked confused. She felt bloody confused. _What_ was Eloise going on about?

"I'm sorry?" Justin asked, voicing Hannah's confusion.

"Well," Eloise said. She was definitely amused by whatever she was going on about. "Your bed's all rumpled up."

Hannah's mouth dropped open. _Oops_.

"Oh, er. No, they didn't," Justin said, obviously uncomfortable.

Hannah pulled on her trousers as she heard Eloise go on with, "You can call reception. I'm sure someone can come up."

"No!" Justin yelled out. Hannah cringed. "I mean… no need to bother them."

Buttoning up her khakis, Hannah rolled her eyes. _They didn't sound obvious at all_, a sarcastic voice in her brain yelled. She ran her hands quickly through her tresses, looked at her reflection and frowned. Finding a few hair elastics in her pocket, Hannah threw her curls into low pigtails. She looked around the small bathroom and spotted the toilet, which she promptly flushed before walking back out into the room.

"Eloise!" she said brightly--too brightly. "How are you?"

Giving her a strange look, Eloise answered, "Fine. Susan's feeling better. We're going to get something to eat, and we were wondering if you two wanted to come. Unless, of course," there was a definite glow of mischief in her face, "you have something better to do. Here." Eloise looked none too subtly at the rumpled bed, and Hannah felt her cheeks go warm.

"No!" Hannah replied quickly. "Um, yeah! Food, great!" She shot a smile in Justin's direction, who was staring back at her, wide-eyed. Hannah frowned and looked back towards Eloise. She looked like she was about to burst into tears of laughter.

This was not going well. Hannah inwardly groaned.

"Good," Eloise said, smiling broadly. "We're leaving in a few minutes. You might want to fix your shirt, Hannah."

Hannah looked down, and her insides froze. Her shirt was on backwards _and_ inside out. She immediately tried to cover her mistake with her hands, failing miserably.

After Eloise left the room, Hannah immediately tore off her shirt to turn it right side out. While fixing her top, an item that seemed to simply not want to be righted, she asked Justin in a small voice, "Do you think we should tell them?"

Finally getting her shirt right-side out, Hannah let out a little yell of triumph, but Justin remained silent. Once she pulled her shirt safely back over her head, she shot an expectant look in his direction. He seemed to be staring at her neck.

Hannah was just about to ask him again, when he spoke softly. "What does this mean? Between us?"

Hannah holds her breath.

She was afraid of this question; she didn't have an answer. Hannah knew what she wanted, but Justin couldn't possibly want the same thing, and that's what scared her.

"Hannah," he said, walking up to her. He gave her a searching stare. "Where do we go from here?"

"I--I don't know," she answered truthfully. "You're such a good friend, and I don't want to lose that, but…. I like you," Hannah said, deciding truth was the best thing to go with. She swallowed deeply, trying to push the lump in her throat away. She placed her hand on the side of Justin's neck and rubbed gently. "I like this."

Justin was looking blankly at her, and Hannah's heart beat faster, thinking she'd just made a mistake, but then, he placed his hands on her hips. Hannah let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding.

This little action on his part gave her the courage she needed to continue. "I've wanted this--you--for a long time now."

"You have?" His voice cracked slightly, and Hannah thought it was the most endearing thing she'd ever heard.

Leaning in, she kissed his collarbone and nodded against his shoulder. When his hands moved to her back so that he was hugging her, Hannah felt the safest she had in as long as she could remember.

"I have, too," he whispered into her ear.

Hannah looked up, almost unable to believe him. When she met his eye, however, she knew it was the truth and she met his lips in a soft, but passionate, kiss.

His hands were warm against her back, and Hannah shivered as they moved down. Moaning, Hannah tried to pull him in closer.

Bang!

Gasping, Hannah and Justin sprang apart to face the source of the sound.

The hotel-room door was wide open, their two friends standing beneath the doorframe.

Eloise was hiding her giggles in her hand, but Hannah barely noticed her. Her attention went immediately to Susan. She looked ghostly pale, and her eyes were brimmed with red. Hannah's heart went out to her friend.

Then, a brilliant smile broke out on Susan's face, lighting it up. She shouted, almost triumphantly, "I knew it!"

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

Hannah snuggled into Justin's arms, both of them looking very satisfied, like kittens who had just been fed warm milk. They sat together as the train jerked into movement.

The car was filled with people, but neither of them took note of any of anyone else, not even of their friends, who were sitting across the aisle from them. The two of them were looking forward to their next destination, Vienna, with great anticipation.

They laughed over some silly thing or another as the train pulled out of the station. It was raining slightly, but the foul weather would never dash Justin and Hannah's fond memories of their stay in Prague, a city full of magic and surprise.

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

_Fin_

_**A/N the Second:** Many thanks to Lady G, Julia Weasley and Cronje for looking over this for me._

_If you're over 17 and want too read the full version of this fic, go to The Firelight at www . thefirelight . net (take out the spaces) and look under my penname, Tari._

_Jan Palach, as mentioned earlier in this chapter, was a real person, and did set himself on fire. For more information on this, check out http :archiv. radio. cz/ palach99/ eng/ palach. html (just take out all those spaces)._

_Thank you for reading this fic and giving these Hufflepuffs a chance. If you want to leave me a review about what you think, I'd be so grateful!_


End file.
